New strains and species of antibiotic-resistant bacteria are becoming increasingly common in hospitals and other health-care facilities. Treatment options for infections caused by such bacteria are often limited to costly medications that produce undesirable side effects. Antibiotic resistance has been detected in strains of a number of bacteria, including Staphylococcus aureus, Oerskovia turbata, Aracanobacterium haemolyticum, Streptococcus bovis, Streptococcus gallolyticus, Streptococcus lutetiensis, Bacillus circulans, Paenibacillus, Rhodococcus, Enterococcus, Klebsiella, as well as anaerobic bacteria belonging to the Clostridium genus and Eggerthella lenta, and many other pathogenic bacteria.
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is one example of a type of antibiotic-resistant bacteria emerging as a major epidemiological problem in hospitals throughout the world. MRSA strains are resistant to beta-lactams including penicillins, cephalosporins, carbapenems, and monobactams, which are the most commonly used antibiotics to cure S. aureus infections. Thus, MRSA infections can only be treated with toxic and costly antibiotics (such as Vancomycin and Linezolid), which, due in large part to their negative side effects, are normally only used as a last line of defense. A recent development in MRSA evolution is the emergence of strains that are at least partially resistant to such last-line antibiotics. If these partially resistant strains become fully resistant, there will be no effective treatment for infections caused by those strains.
Early detection and treatment are the primary tools for mitigating the transmission of constantly evolving strains of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Traditional methods of screening for such bacteria require at least 2-4 days for results, during which time the infection has ample opportunity to spread. Rapid and accurate methods, compositions and kits for the detection of antibiotic-resistant bacteria are therefore essential for minimizing their transmission and the pace of their evolution.